On hand-held information processing devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cellular telephones, a user is often prompted to select an item from an ordered list, such as a contact or item from a list of contacts or purchase items (including groceries) in alphabetical order, or an event or date from a list of events or dates in temporal order. Usually, the user operates the hand-held device to cause the items on the list to scroll across a display screen of limited size until the item of interest appears on the screen. The user then additionally operates the hand-held device to select the displayed item. These user operations often require that the user's eyes be focused on the display screen until both operations are completed and that at least one of the user's hands be continually occupied to operate the hand-held device. This can be dangerous when the user is engaged in other actions, such as walking, exercising, driving or operating equipment.